The syllabus of Ph.D. Entrance Examination of SMU or Sikkim Manipal University is as follows:

Research Methodology and Statistics

UNIT 1: Meaning of Research
Meaning, aims, nature and scope of research
Prerequisites of research
Types of research: Fundamental or Pure research, Applied research and Action
research.

UNIT 2: Research Problem
Meaning of research problem
Sources of research problem
Characteristics of a good research problem
Hypothesis: Meaning and types of hypothesis.
Research proposal or synopsis.

UNIT 3: Methods of Research Studies
Qualitative research - Historical studies
Quantitative research - Descriptive and Experimental

Unit 4: Review of Related Literature
Purpose of the review.
Identification of the related literature.
Organizing the related literature.

UNIT 5: Data Collection (Sampling)
Sampling and Population
Techniques of sampling Selection
Characteristics of a good sample
Types of data.

UNIT 6: Tools of Data Collection
Observation, Interview, Questionnaire, Rating scales, Attitude scales, Schedules,
Characteristics of good research tools.

UNIT 7: Descriptive Statistics
Tabulation, Organization, and Graphical Representation of Quantitative data
Measures of Central Tendencies: Mean, Median, Mode
Measures of Variability: Range, Quartile Deviation, Standard Deviation, and
Coefficient of variation.
Normal Probability Distribution: Properties of normal probability curve,
Applications of normality.
Divergence from Normality: Skewness and Kurtosis

UNIT 8: Research Report
Format of the research report
Style of writing the report
References and bibliography

Reference Books:

1. Best John W. and James Kahn, V., 1989, Research in Education, Sixth Edition, Prentice Hall of India Pvt.Ltd, New Delhi.
2. Sharma R.A., 1992, Fundamentals of Educational Research, Loyal Book Depot, Meerut, UP, India.
3. Kulbir Singh Sidhu, 1990, Methodology of Research in Education, Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi.
4. Lokesh Koul, 1997 Methodology of educational Research, third edition, Vikas Publishing House Pvt. Ltd. , New Delhi.
5. Kothari C.R., 1990, Research Methodology Methods and Techniques, Wiley Eastern Limited, New Delhi.
6. Borg Walter R., Gall Meridith D., 1983, Educational Research an Introduction, Fourth Edition, Longaman, New York &London.
7. Nitko Anthony J., 1983, Educational Tests and Measurement an Introduction, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc., New York.
8. Aggarwal Y.P., 1988, Statistical Methods Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi.
9. Garret Hnery E., 1985 Statistics in Psychology and Education, Viakils, Feffer and Simon, Bombay.
10. Guilford, J.P., and Benjamin Fruchter, 1982 Fundamentals of statistics in Psychology and Education, Fifth edition, Mc Graw-Hill Book Company, New York.
11. Gupta S.C. and Kapoor V.K., 1999, Fundamentals of Mathematical Statistics, Sultan Chand& Sons Educational Publishers, New Delhi.
12. Grewal P.S., Methods of Statistics Analysis, Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi.
13. Bruce W. Tuckman, Statistics in Psychology and Education.